Based on lesbian lit classic, Fingersmith and directed by South Korean auteur Park Chan-wook, The Handmaiden is chilling and romantic by turns and sumptuously shot throughout. In fact, this is one of the rare cases where I believe the film might be better than the book it was based on
Moving the setting from England in the book to Japanese-occupied Korea, The Handmaiden tells the story of Sook-Hee. Sook-Hee gets caught up in a plan by “Count Fujiwara” to marry the secluded and mysterious heiress, Lady Hideko. Renamed Tamako, she poses as Hideko’s ladies’ maid. Sparks begin to fly between the girls. However, at the end of part one, it looks as though Sook-Hee has been double-crossed by Hideko and the Count.
The perspective of the movie then shifts to Hideko. She recounts her bizarre backstory of growing up with an abusive uncle obsessed with erotic literature. Hideko becomes a fixture of gatherings he has to show or sell his new acquisitions. Hideko is forced to narrate or simulate a plethora of idealized, male-written sex scenes. On top of this, she knows that inevitably, her uncle will marry her to obtain her fortune. Then comes Count Fujiwara and his promises to free her and the story that Sook-Hee narrated begins again. Hideko’s perspective fills in various blanks and clears up who ultimately was double-crossed.
The Handmaiden is often an uneasy film to watch. Behind all of Park Chan-wook’s perpetually stunning cinematography, something sinister seems always to be lurking. Such an emotion is both brilliant and distracting. While I watched the relationship between these two women grow, I was constantly waiting for the other shoe to drop and for that uneasy atmosphere to erupt into… something. But it never does the way I expected it to. Still, having such a implacable, disturbing atmosphere is certainly appropriate given the plot and the presence of Kouzuki, the creepiest of uncles.
It is certainly a fascinating atmosphere that Park Chan-wook has created. I genuinely don’t know how he did it– was it the music, the camera angles? I’ve not a clue. Subtly done in terms of the actual film making but incredibly prominent within the finished product, the chilling unease that radiates within this movie makes it gripping and fascinating to watch, if not particularly comfortable.
Lush cinematography, spot-on performances and surprisingly griping pacing for what ultimately boils down to a love story, The Handmaiden is a fabulous movie. As an adaption of a book, it beautifully melds the culture and aesthetic of its director while staying surprisingly true to the source material. I found The Handmaiden to be thrumming with more energy, urgency, drama and romance that its novelized counterpoint. Without exaggeration, The Handmaiden is the best WLW film I’ve seen. And though I haven’t seen all of them (yet), I feel pretty confident saying this is one of the all-time bests of the entire genre.
Overall rating: 9.7/10
Other WLW films in similar genres
The absolute best of the best WLW films
I don’t know if you’ve seen the extended version, but it turns The Handmaiden from a 9.9/10 for me to a 10/10, which doesn’t seem like a big jump, but I’m trying to respect the scale! It also helps so much if you can speak Korean and Japanese or at least be able to understand the little nuances between formal and informal speech which play a big role in the shift between the relationship with Himeko and Sookhee.